Cocking mechanism for a slide block cannon



June 26, 1956 Q [3, HQOPES ET AL 2,751,819

COOKING MECHANISM FOR A SLIDE BLOCK CANNON Filed Dec. 25, 1954 5Sheets-Sheet 1 FI'EKIL- L 4s 32 4Q 44 52 :I

INVENTOR. Ewan D HEIU '|3EE| BY Jcfl-u-LB E illery /fMfdWM June 26, 1956o, HQOPES ET AL 2,751,819

COCKING MECHANISM FOR A SLIDE BLOCK CANNON Filed Dec. 25, 1954 3Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR, Uwan ILHuu E5 By John B- Elil sry wmwmaw RTTOENEYS 0. D. HOOPES ET AL COCKING MECHANISM FOR A SLIDE BLOCK CANNONJune 26, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 25, 1954 INVENTOR. GwenELI-Inc:

ATTORNEYS COCKING MECHANISM FOR A SLIDE. BLOCK CANNON Owen D. Hoopes,Latham, and John B. Sillery, Albany,

N. Y., assignors to the United States of America: as represented by theSecretary of the Army The invention described herein may be manufacturedand used" by or for the Government for governmental purposes without thepayment of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to slide block cannons and more particularly tothe cooking mechanism therefor.

Because of the misfires occasionally encountered. in slide blockcannons-having automatic firingmechanisms of manually operatedpercussion type, it is necessary to provide means for manually cockingthe gun for refire. However, it has been customary to position themanual cocking lever so that the gunner is forced to assume a vulnerableposition-when cocking the gun and, therefore, injuries are oftentimesexperienced. In most instances, the gunner has to reach over the gun andpush the cocking lever against the direction of recoil. Consequently,should the gu-nners hand slip from the cocking lever before the firingpin is cocked and the accidentally released firingpin' strike the primerto fire the round, his arm, which would normally follow through in thedirection of applied force, would meet the gun in recoil resulting in aninjury.

Designs have been provided which utilize a manual, rearwardly actuatedcocking lever but they have all resulted in complex manufacturingproblems and some have sacrificed vital breech-block strength because ofthe clearance cuts required therein to attain the desired movement.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a device formanually cooking a cannon whereby the gunner need not extend his hand orarm in the path of the recoiling parts of the gun during the cooking.operation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a device for manuallycocking the cannon wherein the cocking lever is actuated rearwardly.

It is a further object of this invention. to provide a rearwardlyactuated cocking device having a minimum number of parts which is easyto manufacture and requires few weakening clearance cuts in thebreechblock.

It is' the specific object of this invention to provide a cooking devicewherein a rotatable shaft cIammingly cooperates between a pivotallymounted cocking lever and a longitudinally reicprocat'ing firing pindevice to translate rearward movement of such cocking lever to rearwardmovement of such firing pin.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects andadvantages thereof will clearly appear from a description of a preferrtdembodiment as shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a fragmentary partially cross-sectional view of the rear endof the breech of a cannon;

Fig. 2 is a reduced perspective view of the breech of a cannon;

Fig. 3- is a view along line 3-3 of Fig. lshowing the firing pin inphantom actuated to cock position by' the cooking lever;

Fig. 4' is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing the firing pin inphantom in normal fire position" and the cocking lever in normal forwardposition; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective exploded view of the cockingmechanism.

States Patent 5" 2,7 51,819 Patented June 26, I956 Shown in the figuresis a slide block cannon. having a breech ring 12' and a breechblock 14slidably mounted in an opening IS'therein for movement between adownward loading and an upward blocking position. Breechblock 14 may beoperated manually by an operating handle 18 mounted on the right side ofbreech ring 12. Provided longitudinally through breechblock 14 is acylindrical hole 20 and mounted for longitudinal movement therein is afiring pin mechanism 24 which is reciprocable between a forward fireposition and a rearward cock position. Provided around the rear endoffiring pin mechanism 24 is arr-annular flange 28 which is latchable by asear (not shown) mounted in the left' side of breechblock 14 forrel'easably securing such firing pin mechanism in cock position.

Arranged in hole 20, to bias firing pin mechanism 24 forwardly to fireposition, is a coiled compression spring 32. The scar is actuatable torelease firing pin mechanism 24 either manually by an operating lever 36pivotally mounted on the right side of breech ring 12 or electrically byan electric solenoid 38, such operating shaft and solenoid beingconnected to the sear by a linkage mechanism 34.

A wide vertical groove 39 is provided in the right side of'b-reechblock14 and extending inwardly therefrom so as to communicate with hole 20 isa bore 40 the axis of which is on a lower level than the axis of suchhole as will be further explained hereinafter. Bore 40 is counterbored,as noted at 42, to form an annular shoulder 44. Rotatably mounted inbore 40 is a cylindrical cocking shaft'46 having at one end an annular,radially project'- ing rim. 48 which is rotatably received in a matingrecess 43 in the side of breechblock 14. A lug 50 extends longitudinallyfrom the opposite end of shaft 46 and adjacent the perimeter thereof,and hole 26 and bore 40 are so related that when shaft 46 is rotated towhere such lug is in the topmost position, such lug is engageable withsaid flange 28. Whereby,.rotation of shaft 46 to move lug 50 againstflange 28* cammingly moves firing pin mechanism 24 rearwardly' to cockposition. Mounted in countcrbore 42 to surrolmd. shaft 46 is a coiledtorsional spring 52 having a pair of oppositely extending tangs- 54which are interchangeably received in. a hole 56, extending inwardlyfrom shoulder 44, and a hole 58 in rim 48. Spring 52 is arranged to beenergized when shaft 46 is rotated to actuate firing, pin mechanism 24to cock position.

Extending laterally from rim 48, opposite lug 50, is a stud 62 which iscooperable with a cocking lever 64 pivotally mounted in groove 39 ashereinafter described. Cooking lever 64 is comprised of a. cylindricalaxle portion 68. which projects laterally therefrom to form a lower armportion 70 and an upper arm portion 72. Axle: portion. 68 is rotatablyreceived by a well 74, which extends inwardly from groove 39 verticallyabove bore 40, and is maintained in such well by slidable engagement ofarm portions 70 and 72 with breech ring 12. Provided in lower armportion 70 is an elongated cut-out portion 76 which cooperates with stud62 as hereinafter described. For manual operation upper arm portion 72is terminated by a finger gripping portion 78 which projects abovebreech ring 12 when. breechblock 14 is in firing position, for readyaccess to the operator, and is formed to arch slightly forward for easygripping and to prevent the operators fingers slipping therefrom ascocking lever 64 is pulled rearwardly. Y

. Extending forwardly from upper arm portion 72, below gripping. portion78, is a nose portion 80 which cooper;- ates with an. upwardly andforwardly inclining cam. portion'SZ inthe. front end of opening 15 forpivoting cocking lever 64 automatically when breechblock 14 moves to andfrom firing position. During the remainder of the cyclic movement ofbreechblock 14 to and from loading position, the actuator slidablyengages the front side of opening as best shown in Fig. 3. The normalforward position of upper portion 72 is established by the engagement oflower portion 70 with the rear wall of groove 39. Lower portion 70 isnormally biased into engagement with the rear wall of grove 39 by spring52 being preloaded. The preload is maintained in spring 52 by theengagement of stud 62 with the top side of cut-out portion 76, as bestshown in Fig. 4, which prevents'rotation of shaft 46 by the spring.

Operation It is seen that the manual operating mechanisms for the cannonincluding operating handle 18 for raising or lowering breechblock 14,operating lever 36 for releasing firing pin mechanism 24 to fire achambered cartridge (not shown) and cocking lever 64 for cocking thefiring pin mechanism are all located on the same side of breech ring 12.Therefore, the operator need not be endangered by having to reach in theway of the recoiling parts of the cannon to operate any of the actuatingmechanisms.

With breechblock 14 in blocking position and firing pin mechanism 24releasably held in cock position by the sear (not shown), the operatorfires the chambered cartridge by either energizing solenoid 38 ormanually actuating operating lever 36. During the ensuing counterrecoilof breech ring 12, breechblock 14 is automatically lowered therein byconventional crank means (not shown) to the loading position.

In the initial portion of the movement of breechblock 14 away fromblocking position, upper portion 72 of cocking lever 64 is pivotedrearwardly around axle portion 68 through the engagement of nose portion80 with cam 82. As upper portion 72 pivots rearwardly, lower portion 70pivots forwardly against stud 62 to rotate shaft 46. Whereby, stud 50 isrotated against flange 28 of firing pin mechanism 24 for retractionthereof to cock position, compressing spring 32 and rotatablyenenergizing spring 52. During the remainder of the travel ofbreechblock 14 to loading position, for the loading of a new cartridge,and the subsequent movement therefrom towards blocking position, thefiring pin mechanism 24 is held securely in cock position by operatinglever 36 through the sliding engagement of nose portion 80 thereof withthe front side of opening 15 as best shown in Fig. 3.

As breechblock 14 approaches blocking position and nose portion 80 comesadjacent the clearance provided by cam portion 82, cocking lever 64 ispermitted to be pivoted by shaft 46, through the energy stored in spring52, to maintain such nose portion in engagement with cam portion 82while moving therealong. In the meantime, lug 50 is rotated away fromflange 28 of firing pin mechanism 24, permitting the compressed spring32 to move the firing pin mechanism forwardly into releasable engagementwith the sear (not shown) and subsequently out of the way of suchfiring-pin mechanism when released by operating lever 36 or solenoid 38to fire the chambered cartridge.

In the event firing pin mechanism 24 does not fire the chamberedcartridge, the operator, standing on the right side of-breech ring 12,pulls rearwardly on finger gripping portion 78, recocking the firing pinmechanism as hereinbefore described. It is evident that if the operatorsfingers should inadvertently slip from finger gripping portion 78 beforefiring pin mechanism 24 is latched by the sear and the accidentallyreleased firing pin mechanism goes forward and fires the chamberedcartridge, the operators hand or arm would receive little if any harmfrom-the recoiling parts as they would be traveling rearwardly also,following through in the direction of applied force.

It is, therefore, evident that there is herein provided a cockingmechanism which is novel in structure, which provides a strongerbreechblock by being accommodated therein in a cylindrical opening andwhich reduces operational hazards to the operator.

Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described indetail herein, it is evident that many variations may be devised withinthe spirit and scope thereof and the following claims are intended toinclude such variations.

We claim:

1. In a cannon, a breech ring, a breechblock mounted for slidablemovement in said breech ring, a firing pin mounted in said breechblockfor sliding linear movement, a cooking lever mounted to said breech forpivotal movement, a cylindrical shaft for rotatingly translating saidpivotal movement of said cocking lever to said linear movement of saidfiring pin, and a cam portion in said breech ring cooperable with saidcocking lever for pivoting said cocking lever during sliding movement ofsaid breechblock.

2. In a cannon having a breech ring with an attached tube, a breechblockmounted for slidable movement in the breech ring, said breechblock beingprovided with a cylindrical hole aligned with the tube and a bore normalthereto, a firing pin having an annular flange mounted for linearsliding movement in said hole, a cylindrical shaft mounted for rotarymovement in said bore, a cocking lever mounted to said breechblock forpivotal movement responsive to said slidable movement of saidbreechblock, a first cam means for translating said pivotal movement ofsaid cocking lever to said rotary movement of said shaft, and a secondcam means for translating said rotary movement of said shaft to saidlinear movement of said firing pin.

3. In a cannon having a breech ring With a tube attached, a breechblockmounted in the breech ring for sliding movement between a loadingposition and a blocking position, said breechblock being provided with acylindrical hole aligned with the tube and a bore normal thereto, afiring pin having an annular flange mounted in said hole for slidinglinear movement between a cock position and a fire position, resilientmeans for biasing said firing pin to said fire position, a cylindricalshaft mounted for rotary movement in said bore, a cocking lever mountedto said breechblock for pivotal movement responsive to said slidingmovement of said breechblock, cam means for translating said pivotalmovement of said cocking lever to said rotary movement of said shaft, astud extending eccentrically from said shaft for engagement with saidflange to cam said firing pin to said cock position in response torotation of said shaft, and a spring for rotating said shaft to biassaid stud away from said flange.

4. In a cannon having a breech ring with a tube attached, a breechblockmounted in the breech ring for sliding movement between a loadingposition and a blocking position, said breechblock being provided with acylindrical hole aligned with the tube and a bore normal thereto, afiring pin having an annular flange mounted in said hole for slidinglinear movement between a cock position and a fire position, resilientmeans for biasing said firing pin to said fire position, a cylindricalshaft mounted for rotary movement in said bore, a cocking lever mountedto said breechblock for pivotal movement responsive to said slidingmovement of said breechblock, cam means for translating said pivotalmovement of said cocking lever to said rotary movement of said shaft, astud extending eccentrically from said shaft for engagement with saidflange to cam said firing pin to said cock positionin response torotation of said shaft, and a torsional coil spring mounted in said borearound said shaft, said spring having one end anchored in a hole in saidshaft and another end anchored in said breechblock for rotating saidshaft to bias said stud away from said flange.

5. In a cannon having a breech ring with a tube attached, a breechblockmounted in an opening in the breech ring for slidable movement between aloading and a blocking position, said breechblock being provided with acylindrical hole aligned with the tube and a bore normal thereto, afiring pin having an annular flange mounted in said hole for slidingmovement between a cock and a fire position, a cylindrical shaft mountedfor rotary movement in said bore, a stud extending eccentrically fromone end of said shaft for cooperation with said flange to cam saidfiring pin to said cock position, a cam portion extending from saidopening in the breech ring, a cocking lever pivotally mounted to saidbreechblock for engageable cooperation with said cam portion when saidbreechblock moves away from said blocking position to pivot said cockinglever, cam means for translating pivotal movement of said cocking leverto said rotary movement of said shaft for actuation of said firing pinto said cock position by said stud, and spring means for rotating saidshaft against the direction of applied force of said cocking lever.

6. In a cannon having a breech ring with a tube attached, a breechblockmounted in an opening having a front wall in the breech ring forslidable movement between a loading and a blocking position, saidbreechblock being provided with a cylindrical hole aligned with the tubeand a bore normal thereto, a firing pin having an annular flange mountedin said hole for sliding movement between a cock and a fire position, acylindrical shaft mounted for rotary movement in said bore, a studextend ing eccentrically from one end of said shaft for coopera tionwith said flange to cam said firing pin to said cock position, a cockinglever provided with a cylindrical axle portion and integral upper andlower arm portions extending diametrically therefrom, said axle portionbeing rotatably received in a well in one side of said breechblock, saidlower arm portion being cammingly cooperable with a lug extendingeccentrically from said shaft for rotation thereof to move said studaginst said flange when said upper portion is pivoted rearwardly, a camportion extending upwardly and forwardly from said front wall of saidopening, said cam portion being cooperable with said upper arm portionfor rearward actuation thereof when said breechblock is in initialportion of travel away from said blocking position, said upper armportion slidably cooperating with said front wall for holding said upperarm portion rearwardly, handle means extending from said upper portionfor manual operation of said cocking lever, and a coiled torsionalspring mounted in said bore around said shaft and interposed betweensaid breechblock and said shaft for rotation thereof to release saidstud from said flange of said firing pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,072,456 Hermsdorf Sept. 9, 1913

